American Culture

Cynthia SchultesESL 195

Course Description:

Since its inception the United States of America has been a nation made up of many peoples and cultures. Native Americans, African Americans, Europeans Americans, Asian Americans, Latin Americans—all have lived together on these shores, in what has not always been an easy coexistence. However, whether these groups were already here, came voluntarily or involuntarily, this cultural “melting pot,” or the process through which these diverse groups both retained their native culture and fashioned out an “American” culture is what has defined America’s uniqueness.

Specially designed for first-year ESL students, this course explores the history of the various cultural groups in America and their contributions to the nation’s cultural fabric. Through literature, film, food, art and music, as well as field trips throughout San Francisco (itself a microcosm of America’s diversity), students will take an American cultural tour, preparing them as they embark on their own academic journeys at USF, in San Francisco and in the U.S.A.

Faculty Bio:

Cynthia Schultes has been teaching rhetoric and English as a Second Language at the University of San Francisco for over ten years. She received her Ph.D. and M.A. degrees in eighteenth-century British and American colonial history from The George Washington University and Arizona State University respectively. She loves learning about and experiencing new cultures and has studied and taught abroad, most notably at Notre Dame Seishin University in Okayama, Japan.